


Rambo The Hamster (don't give Reggie a cat)

by Michelangelinda



Series: Julie and the Himbos and Kittens [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Alex and Reggie are just in love with the cats, Alex has anxiety, Julie Molina is a queen and i love her, Julie can touch the boys now, LITERALLY, Luke is in love with Julie, Post-Canon, Rated T because I let Alex say fuck, a lot of bickering, alex is so done, as he should be, give that man a break (or a cat), no plot/only fluff, the band adopts kittens, the boys are part of the family now, the family can see the boys finally, this is just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29860560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michelangelinda/pseuds/Michelangelinda
Summary: “I found them by a creek, they were all cold and hungry, I couldn’t just leave them”, Julie explained as she came back from the kitchen, a small bowl of water in her hands.“Okay …”, Alex said and he and Luke made their way into the living room as well, but while Luke went closer to Reggie and Julie, Alex stopped just by the sofa.He peered into the box. Three kittens stared up at the two boys and Julie crouching in front of them. They were tiny, Julie had placed a tennis ball in the box and they weren’t much bigger, their fur sticking up in all directions as they tumbled around in the box. And they were loud, well, as loud as three tiny baby cats could be, but they couldn’t really meow yet so they just – screamed. It was a lot.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, almost a hint of, hints of
Series: Julie and the Himbos and Kittens [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2195385
Comments: 4
Kudos: 59





	Rambo The Hamster (don't give Reggie a cat)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SapphireAmethystPatch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireAmethystPatch/gifts).



> I saw [this tumblr post](https://sapphireamethystpatch.tumblr.com/post/643674878637162496/was-thinking-about-how-cats-are-said-to-be-able-to) and thought to myself "nice, but more" and then I had to write this, hope you enjoy it.  
> It's quite dialog-heavy, so get ready for that.
> 
> (Please note that I'm not a native speaker and neither is my beta reader so if you find any mistakes please let me know)
> 
> Okay, have fun now, let me know what you think

“Please, Luke, I just want us to try it and then you’ll see, that it’s a musical masterpiece!” Luke groaned at Reggie's words and turned to him, walking backwards up the Molina’s driveway.

“Listen, Reggie, I don’t want to try out your stupid country songs, we’re not a country band and we’re not playing them, please get over this!” Reggie gasped in shock as the word ‘stupid’ left Luke's mouth.

“Please, I beg you, just one time, you’ll like it, I promise!”

“I’ve read it and I didn’t like it, that’s reason enough to not want to play it.”

“But it only gets really good when the fiddle starts and–“

“There’s a fiddle involved?”

“Of course, it’s not a country song without one.”

“Can you maybe stop arguing, I’m getting a headache”, Alex interrupted their bickering. “And yeah, I know, that I technically can’t get a headache because I don’t have a body but apparently you are annoying enough to give my spirit a headache, so what does that say about you?”

Both Luke and Reggie looked offended at Alex’ words, but he didn’t care. The two had been arguing all day about the most useless shit, including but not limited to Reggie's ‘Home is where my Horse is’, if Pizza Hut or Domino’s is better, ignoring the fact that neither of them have eaten there in 25 years, and whether being tired is an emotion. They were driving him up the wall.

They had spent the day in the city, checking out venues where it’d be cool to play (not that they have much of a choice in that) until the sun went down and their feet started hurting (“Ugh, I’m getting phantom-pain in my feet” – “Don’t- don’t say it, Reggie”). It was fun and all, but not having as much as a minute to himself since he woke up today was really draining. Alex was really looking forward to going back to the studio so he could chill on the loft ignoring the trouble that Luke and Reggie would get into downstairs.

“Hey, where are you going, aren’t we going back to the studio?”, Alex asked as the others went up the steps towards the front door.

“No, it’s Saturday, Julie wanted to watch that movie with us. The one with the troll”, Luke answered, turning to Alex who was still glancing hopefully towards their studio.

“It’s an ogre!”, Reggie corrected him just as Alex said, “but I’m tired” and then the two were violently bickering again as they walked through the front door without knocking. Alex groaned and shot one last look over his shoulder at where he could see the tip of the garage glinting in the setting sun before he followed them into the house.

He didn’t get far because as soon as his head passed through the wood of the door he walked into Reggie.

“What the …”, he started but was interrupted by Reggie squealing and Alex stepped behind Luke out of reflex.

“Holy HECK!”, Reggie screamed and ran towards the living room, a cardboard box with three small moving creatures in front of the sofa.

“Julie … what?”, Luke called, him and Alex not yet leaving their spot by the door, too confused by the situation and keeping a safe distance between them and whatever was in that box.

“I found them by a creek, they were all cold and hungry, I couldn’t just leave them”, Julie explained as she came back from the kitchen, a small bowl of water in her hands.

“Okay …”, Alex said and he and Luke made their way into the living room as well, but while Luke went closer to Reggie and Julie, Alex stopped just by the sofa.

He peered into the box. Three kittens stared up at the two boys and Julie crouching in front of them. They were tiny, Julie had placed a tennis ball in the box and they weren’t much bigger, their fur sticking up in all directions as they tumbled around in the box. And they were loud, well, as loud as three tiny baby cats could be, but they couldn’t really meow yet so they just – screamed. It was a lot.

The all black one was the strongest and definitely the loudest. Within two minutes it had climbed the cardboard wall imprisoning it and fell out of the box. It got up immediately and started to waddle around Julie and Reggie who had sat down on the floor. When it started towards Alex, he yelped and stepped behind the sofa.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of it”, Julie said and laughed, as the small ball of yelling fluff chased him around the sofa until he tripped on the rug and fell into Reggie's lap.

“Dude, get off me!” Reggie tried to push him off, but Alex gripped his shoulders for support as he hauled his feet up to avoid the cat. It hobbled past them towards Luke and continued to scream and didn’t stop until he picked it up and held it in front of his face.

“Hello, little guy.” He scrunched up his nose and it screamed again, a lot less violent this time. “I can’t believe you are afraid of this. It’s cute.” Luke laughed.

“If it so cute then why is it so loud, huh? It’s terrifying”, Alex said and Reggie finally succeeded in shoving him off him. Alex sat down next to him and crossed his arms.

“It’s a cat, Alex, there’s nothing terrifying about them.”

“Balthazar was fucking terrifying if I might remind you”, Alex argued and Reggie pulled a face and shuddered.

“Who’s Balthazar?”, Julie asked.

“My family’s cat and he hated everyone. Wouldn’t stop hissing if I ever tried to get near him.” He may have looked cute with his ginger fur and fluffy tail but that cat was pure evil and if dying in 1995 and reappearing in 2020 had a single perk then it was that Balthazar was probably dead by now. “He bit me once, I still have a scar!” He held out his hand to Julie, a small mark still very much visible.

“One cat was mean to you and now you hate them all?”

“I grew up with him, it’s ingrained into my soul!”, Alex justified, and he was ready to speak up again when Reggie whispered “weak” next to him, but Julie beat him to it.

“Don’t be mean, Reg!” She bumped his shoulder with her fist and sat up. “Well, Alex, I think it’s time you stand up to your fear.”

“What do you mean?”, Alex asked but he could already guess what her plans were when she reached into the box and carefully picked up one of the two kittens left. “Don’t, please don’t do this to me”, he begged and shuffled back but his shoulders soon hit the sofa, so he closed his eyes and hoped for the best.

“Oh, no, please do this to him”, Reggie said encouragingly, cheering Julie on as she slowly placed the cat in Alex lap. He wanted to scream but instead he carefully opened one eye and peered at the kitten. It was so small he barely felt its weight on his legs and after it mewled once and stepped around on his lap for a few seconds it curled up on his thigh and fell asleep.

“Aw, see, it likes you”, Julie cooed as she kneeled in front of Alex. He slowly opened his other eye and took in the small ball of grey fur curled up on him. A short leg was sticking out and he noticed that its paws were white like its face, and its nose and the little toe beans were pink and now that Alex looked at it properly, he had to admit that it actually was pretty cute.

“It’s so small”, he almost whispered, now very concerned about every movement of his body, too afraid to wake the tiny creature.

“Touch it, they’re really soft.” Julie had picked up the third cat, white with big black and brown spots, and stroked it carefully.

“Touch it? I can’t!”

“Just do it, Alex, it won’t kill you”, Luke said from where he was lying on his back, letting the black cat climb all over his body.

Alex sucked in a breath and slowly lowered his hand over the cat, just barely touching it before he pulled back.

“I’ll hurt it”, he explained, looking back at Julie anxiously.

“You won’t, I promise. I carried them all the way home in a cardboard box and they’re fine.” She smiled at him encouragingly and nodded. Slowly he let his fingers stroke over the small body and if he was being honest, he could have cried. It started purring which he knew meant that it was comfortable and when it adjusted its little body to fit into his palm he really did feel like choking up.

“You’re doing it, I’m proud of you!”, Julie said and patted his knee.

“Yeah man, that’s awesome.” Reggie leaned in closer to make kissy noises to the kitten.

“Hey, get your own cat.” Alex pushed Reggie away, still careful not to move too much, especially now that his left hand was trapped too. He gently stroked the kittens head with his thumb and it nuzzled closer into his palm.

He looked up when Julie said “Hey!” and almost missed how the third cat slipped out of her hand and onto the carpet. It stumbled across the floor over to Reggie where it bumped headfirst into his knee and fell over. Reggie stared at it openmouthed as it stood up clumsily and fell right over again.

“It’s perfect for you, man”, Alex said and Julie laughed but Reggie still didn’t move.

“Come on, pick it up”, Julie urged him.

“But I’m allergic.”

“Dude, you’re made of air, I don’t think you can be allergic to anything right now”, Luke said, came over and sat down on the sofa behind Alex, the black cat perched on his shoulder like a parrot. It looked almost smug as it stared down at them.

Reggie didn’t hesitate any longer, he picked up the kitten from the carpet and held it in front of his face, his eyes barely open from grinning so hard. He carefully kissed it on the head and pulled back, shaking his head.

“Nope, definitely not allergic. Being dead is awesome.” He punched Luke's knee happily.

“Hey, be careful, I’m chilling with my man.” Luke pointed to the cat on his shoulder and it let out a kitten-scream, as if on command.

“Your man?”, Julie asked but smiled brightly.

“Yeah, you’re keeping them, I hope.” Reggie gasped at Luke's words.

“I'm not giving them away. Over my dead body!” Julie laughed and Alex didn’t know if it was because of Reggie's bad joke or because of his reaction to that possibility. She waited a second longer before answering them.

“Of course, we’re keeping them.” All three ghosts let out a sigh of relief. “Dad and Carlos are actually picking up cat food and a litter box right now. And we’ll have to take them to the vet sometime soon.”

“Oh, can I come?”, Reggie asked gleefully and Luke and Alex looked at him with frowns on their faces. “What? I like vets. There’s always other cute animals there.”

“Have you ever been to a vet?”, Luke asked incredulously.

“Only once. Almost.” Julie raised her eyebrows at that and Reggie turned to her. “In sixth grade I had a hamster, Rambo, and I tried to take him to the vet after he didn’t move for a week but they just told me he was dead and sent me home.”

“You waited _a week_ to take you _unmoving_ hamster to the vet?” Alex spluttered in disbelief and his eyes moved to the kitten in his hands. Julie must’ve had a similar thought because she smiled quickly and slowly took the cat from him, placing it in her lap instead.

“I thought he was sleeping.”

“For a _week_?” Alex shook his head. Julie sighted loudly.

“Wow, no, I don’t think you should come to the vet with us.” Reggie's face fell and Julie quickly added: “How- how would that look if the cats kept meowing at air?”

“Yeah, how exactly is it possible that they can see us?”, Luke asked.

“And that we can touch them? Not that I’m complaining.” Reggie leaned over Alex’ lap to pet the cat still asleep on his leg but Alex slapped his hand away.

“Huh, I don’t know.” Julie shrugged. “Maybe it’s this thing that cats can see spirits or something.”

“Hold up, cats can what?” Julie turned to Alex.

“Yeah, have you never heard of that? It’s an old superstition, cats are connected to the dead and see spirits and stuff, at least that’s what my mom always told me.” She looked around at the boys as if it was common sense. “It’s why they’re always staring off into the distance or fighting with seemingly nothing.”

“That’s bullshit”, Luke said and crossed his arms.

“Yeah? Then explain why that cat is still sitting on your shoulder.” Julie pulled up her eyebrows and looked at him. Luke huffed. They all knew she won fights before they started.

Alex swallowed. Once again, he was glad that 25 years had passed since his death because he had the feeling that if Balthazar were still alive, he would have tracked Alex down just to bite him again. He looked down at the kitten on his lap. It had uncurled itself and now lay flat on its side, its head still propped up against his hand and one of its paws pushed into his palm. He had known this cat for less than half an hour but it already seemed to like him. Maybe Balthazar really hadn’t been a good example of a cat.

“Oh”, Reggie broke the silence, as it should be, “we have to name them, now that you’re keeping them.” He looked around at the others.

“Don’t you think it’s a little early for that?”, Julie asked.

“Yeah, we have to get to know their personalities first. You don’t name your pets on a whim.” Luke bumped his foot into Reggie's shoulder.

“Or you do and name your hamster ‘Rambo’”, Alex said, more to himself but Reggie heard him and looked incredibly offended.

“What’s wrong with ‘Rambo’?”, he asked and crossed his arms.

“Oh, no, nothing, it’s just that this little guy here” – Alex pointed to the cat on his lap – “doesn’t really give off Rambo-vibes.” Vibes. Willie taught him that. It was a cool word.

“We’ll just see what they’re like over the next couple days. But you’re allowed to help name them”, Julie promised Reggie and he looked happier immediately.

* * *

A week and a half passed quickly as the cats got more comfortable around the house, the Molina’s and the three ghosts.

Carlos absolutely adored them and they loved him too. He always greeted them first after he got home from school, before he said hello to his family or the occasional ghost sitting in the living room.

Ray was a little skeptical of the cats at first, afraid that they would get into trouble if he left for work and the children for school, but Julie assured him that the boys would take good care of them while they were gone. It helped that Ray could see them now, after whatever happened in the garage after the show at the Orpheum, whenever they were around Julie, so it wasn’t just a cat floating through the air but a cat sitting on Reggie's shoulder as he zoomed around the kitchen counter to entertain it.

He had assigned the boys some chores, now that they were kind of part of the household.

Reggie was always happy to dry the dishes when Ray washed them, he would tell him the most useless stuff while he put away the glasses (he weirdly knew where everything needed to go, but then again he had spent a lot of time watching Ray do the dishes before he was visible to him).

Luke was tasked with sweeping the first floor and he did so with utmost joy. Carlos taught him how to play music over the google home so now he could pretend that the broom was a microphone as he danced and sang through the kitchen and living room.

Alex was asked to help in the kitchen, or rather, _Alex asked_ if he could help in the kitchen.

He had always liked cooking. Back when he was alive and living at his parents’ house, he had used it as stress relief. Whenever he’d been anxious, he would drum with his fingers on the kitchen table and eventually his mom had gotten too annoyed with it, so she’d made him help her with dinner instead. He’d started doing it as a distraction (being forced to focus on something to avoid fucking it up was more calming than he had originally thought) but eventually he’d grown to really enjoy it. And he’d gotten quite good at it, much to the advantage of his bandmembers, who had all failed at boiling pasta.

So he helped out in the Molina’s kitchen whenever he could, chopping vegetables, watching over sauces and seasoning fry-ups. He couldn’t eat any of the stuff he made but Carlos was always by his side as professional taster and so far he hadn’t complained once.

(Of course, the boys helped with the chores added by the cats too, feeding them and cleaning the litterbox, but neither smelled really good so they were a lot more reluctant about that.)

The three helping out didn’t only make the life of the Molina’s easier, it helped the boys too. It gave them some sense of normality in their otherwise so very-much-not-normal-anymore life (or afterlife) and made them feel a little bit more like regular teenagers again.

The cats thrived too. It has only been a few days since Julie brought them home but they were living their best life in the big house.

They loved them all but especially Julie. Whenever she came home, be it from school or just a short trip to the grocery store, they always greeted her by the door, screaming and walking around her ankles. She would pick them up one by one and kiss their head to show them how loved they are now that they lived here.

One time Alex caught Luke staring at her standing in the doorway, two cats in her arms, talking to them softly. He was sure Luke hoped she wouldn’t notice him staring because when she turned around and smiled at him he blushed furiously and looked away. They were ridiculous. 

In the few days since their arrival it also became clear how scarily similar the cats were to the boys.

The black cat with one blue and one green eye (“which is like the coolest thing ever, Alex, holy shit”) was the first to rise and the last to leave the guys alone, always running around, screaming at everything and everyone and fighting with its siblings. It loved Luke the most and when he was singing-dancing-sweeping through the living room it would sit on his shoulder and sing with him.

The black, white and brown one preferred Reggie. It would follow him wherever he went, around the house and even into the garage. Alex found them together on Luke's sofa more than once, Reggie on his back with his bass on his stomach, the cat asleep on his chest (“I can never move again, Alex, you’ll have to feed me” – “you don’t even eat” – “not the point!”). When Reggie and Ray did the dishes the cat would sit on the kitchen counter, observing them closely and yelling at them every once in a while as if it was part of the conversation.

The grey-white one was the shyest of the batch. It preferred to stay behind while its siblings adventured around the house. Its favorite place to sleep was on Alex’ lap and he was always close to crying when it started to purr on him (“It means it’s comfortable, Luke, on me!”). One time Luke placed it in Alex’ hood while he was cooking and it enjoyed being carried around in the soft pink fabric so much that it became a habit whenever Alex wore a hoodie.

So far they hadn’t decided on their names yet.

Reggie had suggested names from all kinds of movie characters, Darth Vader, Norman Bates, Jason Dean, but both Julie and Alex were strongly against naming the cats after characters who coincidentally all turned out to be serial killers.

Luke came up with the most absurd things he could think of, Megasonic Supernova or Ultrafire Killerbase or whatever the hell, but after Carlos fell off the sofa from laughing so hard at his suggestions, they quickly decided against them.

If it was for Alex he would give them random normal names, like Paul or Jeremy but Reggie really, _really_ wanted to name the cats _after_ something and Julie had promised him that he was allowed to help so they had to put off the naming ceremony for a little longer.

It wasn’t until this very afternoon that they came up with something fitting.

Alex was chasing Luke around the house. He had taken his hat, he knew it, but Luke acted all innocent so now he was being chased around the house so Alex could have it back. The hat wasn’t really that important to him, but it has his’ and Luke had enough beanies to put on his head so why did he need Alex’ hat too?

“Lucas Andrew Patterson, get your ass over here and give me my hat back”, Alex yelled after Luke as he jumped down the last two steps of the stairs.

“Piss off, Alex, I don’t have your stupid hat!”, Luke yelled back, grinning and swinging himself over the back of the sofa, Alex just a moment behind him.

“Hey, language”, they heard Ray scold them, who just appeared in the front door. They stopped for just a second to say “sorry” in unison, then glanced at each other. Alex lunged himself at Luke before he could get away again, gripping him around the waist and lifting him up, before throwing him onto the sofa.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what did you just call him?” They looked up at Julie standing at the foot of the stairs. Alex had his hands on Luke's shoulders, pushing him into the cushions, ready to interrogate him about his missing hat.

“What?”

“What did you call Luke?”

“Ehm, Lucas? That’s his real name.” Alex looked confusedly at her. That wasn’t the first time he had called him that, he had to call Luke by his full name on a daily basis or else he wouldn’t listen.

“No no, after that, his middle name.”

“Andrew ...” Luke pulled a face. He had never liked it when people used his middle name and Alex knew that which was exactly why he used it.

“That’s it!”, Julie exclaimed, coming over to them.

“What’s what?” Reggie had poofed in just next to the sofa. “Oh, hi Ray”. He waved at him and Ray waved back, struggling to keep the paper bags full of groceries in his arms. Alex loosened his grip on Luke and was instantly shoved off, so that the three boys were now standing in a line in front of the sofa, while Julie leaned on her arms on the back.

“We’re naming the cats after your middle names, its perfect!” She grinned brightly. All their mouths fell open.

“We are so not naming them after our middle names.” Luke kneeled down on the sofa cushion to get closer to her.

“See, I don’t even have a middle name”, Alex tried but the lie didn’t work out.

“Uh, yeah you do”, Reggie said and looked at Alex with a frown. Alex rolled his eyes and turned to him.

“She didn’t need to know that!” He sighed. Julie chuckled.

“Why not, guys? You and the cats are so similar, it’ll fit perfectly.” She looked at them and crossed her arms. “It’s the best idea we have so far.” She was right, of course, she was always right.

“What about Anakin Skywalker?” Reggie tried for what had to be the third time.

“Oh my god, were not naming the cats after Star Wars characters, we’ve been over this!”, Luke groaned and threw his arms up.

“You said no serial killers, he’s not a serial killer!” Alex was impressed by how hopeful Reggie sounded.

“Actually …”, he started and Reggie took a breath to argue with him when Ray held up his hand and stopped him. He had put the bags in the kitchen and was standing next to Julie.

“I think it’s a great idea”, he said and Reggie's face fell.

“Ray, how could you betray me like that?” He crossed his arms.

“I’m not gonna answer that. But Julie is right, it is like the cats are you but – you know, as cats. It would only make sense to name them after you.”

“We’re hardly worthy of having anything named after us”, Alex murmured and earned himself a soft kick in the shins by Luke.

“Well, Reggie wanted to name the cats after something so we’re gonna name them after you.”

“Okay fine, but why does it have to be our _middle name_? Is it to keep our legacy alive without making it too obvious?” Luke frowned and leaned forward on the back of the sofa.

“Heh, ‘guess we’re _alive_ that way’. You know, like in ‘Unsaid Emily’ but with ‘alive’ instead of ‘alike’?” Reggie giggled and Alex turned to him.

“Not – not the time. Or place.”

Both Luke and Julie ignored his comment.

“We have to decide on something today, we want to take them to the vet tomorrow. Do you have a better idea?” Julie leaned closer to Luke with a look on her face that would have prevented him from naming a better idea, if he had one. “Thought so.” She took a step back and grinned. “So, it’s decided then.”

Luke let his arms buckle under his weight and slumped forward. His groan was muffled by the sofa cushion and Julie patted his head (Alex could swear he saw his body tense at that but Luke would definitely deny that later).

“Okay. Luke, I know your name is Andrew, that’s the black one. What about you two?” She looked up at Reggie and Alex.

“Frederick”, Alex tried again, hoping Reggie wouldn’t snitch on him another time.

“That’s not your name.”

“Dude!”

Luke groaned again and pushed himself back into a standing position.

“Here we have Reginald Michael Peters and Alexander James Mercer.” He turned to Alex with a scowl on his face. “Only fair to out you after you outed me.”

“If you had listened to me the first three times I yelled at you I wouldn’t have used it!” Alex justified.

“I didn’t listen because I didn’t. Steal. Your hat!”

“Guys!” Julie clapped into her hands again.

Reggie gasped suddenly and for a second Alex thought it was because of his arguing with Luke and glanced at him guiltily before he heard a quiet kitten-scream and three moving spots on the floor caught his eye. Reggie was already on his way towards the cats, ignoring the sofa separating them from him and just walking right through it. Both Alex and Luke winced.

“There are my little angels, my sweet little babies, I have missed you so much”, Reggie cooed as he picked up the cats one by one to cuddle them against his face. He pressed a kiss to each of their heads while whispering “Andrew”, “James” and “Michael” respectively. Julie smiled smugly and turned back to Alex and Luke.

“See, Reggie's has baptized them already, so you better get used to it.”

* * *

It was a little weird at first, to call the cats after names they grew up with but all dropped as soon as they could. Middle names were for awkward family dinners with old relatives and random school certificates, not for three cute, fluffy creatures that try to bite your finger if you pet them too slowly.

Julie really liked the names but Alex assumed that that was less because of them in itself but more because she knew them now. Sometimes she would call the cats and look at the boys directly after, a smug smile on her lips. That was exactly why the boys had collectively decided to never tell her their full names but they hadn’t considered cats to be named after them. 

They did get used to it eventually and it became even more bearable after ‘Andrew’ naturally got shortened to ‘Andy’ and ‘Michael’ turned out to be a ‘Michelle’. ‘James’ was meant to stay ‘James’ because “we named him ‘James’ so we’re gonna call him ‘James’, I will accept no ‘Jamie’s’ in this household” on Alex’ insistence, but because calling a cat by such a normal name was weird, he quickly became ‘James the cat’.

Julie even got them collars to match their favorites ghost’s favorite color, so now the cats were officially-unofficially the boys’ cats and none of them could complain when three kittens followed them clumsily through their day.

**Author's Note:**

> If you've made it this far, thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it.  
> I have no idea if "vibes" wasn't already used in that context in the 90s so let's just pretend it wasn't.
> 
> I have some ideas for a Willex and a Juke fic in this universe so I made this the first part of a series so stay tuned for that if you're interested.
> 
> Thanks to [SapphireAmethystPatch](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/sapphireamethystpatch) on tumblr for letting me borrow your headcanon, go read the original.  
> Also thanks to my friend Ella for beta-reading, love you.  
> You can find my tumblr [here](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/michelangelinda), but it's not very exciting tbh


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